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Saturday, May 14, 2016

This is my first real attempt at making a hair and makeup video. It's not really a tutorial, but more of a demonstration. I realized that I didn't like the sound of my own voice and it was a bit nerve-wracking to try and talk the whole time, so I just recorded my every day makeup process and a page boy hair style. I took the sound off and sped it up, even though it's still 15 minutes long. If you want to skip the makeup, the hair starts at minute six.

Tip: Make sure your hair is completely dry before removing the hair clips.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

I was recently approached by Vegas.com to participate in the search for the #UltimateVegasOutfit. I am actually going to Las Vegas in February and was very excited to show off my vintage style. I chose to put together an outfit for the day and one for the night. I also decided to try and use mostly items that I already own so that I can truly say that I approve of their quality and how they look on the body.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

After my last tutorial, I had some requests for videos. This was my first real attempt at making a tutorial video. And because it was way harder than I imagined, it turned into more of a demonstration. I didn't do a voice over or music and I sped it up so that it wouldn't be 30 minutes long.

Things I learned while making these videos:

Making videos is hard

I need a tripod for my phone

I need to shoot landscape and not portrait

Videos take up an enormous amount of memory. Yikes!

I had no idea how to use iMovie.

I'm not going to give up on more videos in the future, but there is definitely a learning curve. That's enough bitching about the process, let's talk about the actual makeup.

I decided to do this look on myself and my friend Jessica. She was a wonderful and willing model. I wanted to show a similar look on two different skin shades and how it translates. This is a look that I had contemplated on doing for a while and we had a lot of fun taking our photos afterwards. The final result accentuates your expression, so it's really easy to make funny faces. I'll post some of those at the end.

Lichtenstein Demo 1 (on myself)

After I applied my usual foundation and concealer routine to create a clean palette, I started by mapping out my lines with a brown eyebrow pencil. This allowed me the freedom to explore what I wanted to do without making a mess of my face. Once I got it the way I wanted it, I then went over the lines with black. If you do wear this look out for Halloween, keep in mind that this is a look that can get pretty messed up throughout the night. And you should drink out of a straw. Don't hug anyone and don't scratch your face, which is really hard. The reason it's so hard to keep this look clean is because you can't really set it with powder. You could try a makeup setting spray, but I didn't have any of that to test out.

Lichtenstein Demo 2 (Jessica)

In this demonstration, I used the same techniques, but added different colors and tears. You should search the internet for inspiration and pick and choose which elements you want to include. I used a peach concealer for Jessica's dots because I wanted to give it contrast, but white would be too stark and I saw several examples online with red dots, but to me, they just look like zits.

Friday, September 11, 2015

It has been a really long time since I've posted a tutorial. I hoping that the upcoming Halloween holiday will inspire me to start back up. If you have any ideas for tutorials that you would like to see, email me at ali@redroosterdesign.com.

So to start, here is a Marilyn Monroe tutorial because she is one of my favorite vintage inspirations and I've actually never been her for Halloween.

I started with a black and white photo of Marilyn, but I wanted to make this look more severe to really emphasize all of her famous featuresand because it's for Halloween. It's a bit of a mix between a regular Marilyn makeup and and a pop art Marylin with muted colors.

I started by adding the highlights. I just roughly applied them using a flat brush.

Highlights

Then I added the shadows using browns. I used the photograph as a reference as to where to put the shadows and highlights. Marilyn was known for her bedroom eyes and that's achieved with the defined shadows and highlights.

Shadows

I then added the signature arched eyebrows. They are pointy and thicker at the points.

Eyebrows

I then blended the face with a blending sponge by patting the areas lightly.

Blending Sponge

Results of blending the face

Then I used a smaller brush to blend around the eyes.

Real Techniques brush

Next, I went over the brown areas with a brown eye shadow from my naked palette to set it.

Naked Palette

I also went over the highlights with a white eye shadow to set it and even it out.

Sleek palette

Then it was time for the signature Marilyn lips. Her lips have a big bow and are red. I used the same brown cream that I used on my face to outline the lips. Marilyn actually used many shades of red to create her dramatic dimensional lip. After I blended the lips I added different shades of red and pink to the center and finished it off with a dramatic white highlight on the bottom center lip.

Lined Lips

Blended Lips

Lips with Red in the middle

Lip Highlight

Finally, I added eyeliner. You don't have to be super precise. If you look at photos of Marilyn, you can see that her eyeliner has a bit of an angle down on the ends and she usually had liner on the outside bottom of her eye to create that droopy shadow.

Eyeliner

The look wouldn't be complete without her signature beauty mark and her blonde hair.

Final makeup and a wig cap

Here is the final look. If I were really wearing this out, I would have also applied makeup to my neck to make it match my face.

Space: Space is limited to a maximum enrollment of 10 people. The registration deadline is Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

Refund Policy: Refunds will only be given if notified by Wednesday, February 4, 2015, after that date, you can apply a credit toward another class in the future.

What to bring: Please bring a curling utensil of your choice, whether it's a curling iron, hot rollers, etc., a brush of your choice and any special styling products that you would like to use. Hairspray will be provided. Also bring any special hair accessories, i.e. flowers, scarves, etc. that you would like to practice with. Finally, please feel free to bring any photos of hairstyles for inspiration.

Friday, October 31, 2014

My favorite holiday is upon us. It's a little late, but in case you are looking for some inspiration or help, here is a tutorial on how to transform yourself into Morticia Addams.

I started by using my airbrush machine and the color Arctica to create the deathly white complexion that Morticia is famous for. You don't have to use an air brush. You can use a very light foundation or even mix a white face paint in with your regular foundation.

Arctica and Airbrush

You can see the before and after here. I thought I was white already, but I was wrong. I also noticed that the whiter my skin got the pinker my eyeballs got.

Before and after airbrushing

Next I did some contouring, light and dark. For the light I mixed white cream from my Makeup Forever Flash palette and my concealer.

Here is where I put the lights and the darks. The contoured cheek bones are are very important for this look.

After blending the contouring I started on the eyes. Morticia's eyes have a signature smokey look. I started by using a brown to sketch out the shape. I created a v-shape on the outer corners and pulled it all the way up to the inside of the brow. Then I used the gray and the black from this palette and went over the outer v-shape blending as I went. Do it in small increments and blend. I also used the white on my brow bone and the inner corner of my eyes.

You can see here that I kept darkening the shadow in the outer corner.

I also added a shimmery white to the inner corners. If you black gets to smudgy you can also use a brush with concealer to clean it up.

I then added black eyeliner to the top lid. I used a basic cat eye shape and used a cream liner lightly under the eye. I don't like the way my eyes look with black on the water line so I put it under the lashes and filled the water line with white eyeliner.

Next I drew on the eyebrows. Morticia's eyebrows are black and rounded.

The false eyelashes, mascara and red lips are the final touch. Set it with powder and put on your wig.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

A pageboy hairstyle is a haircut which is designed for medium to short length hair. In the fifties the pageboy generally stopped at shoulder-length but later renditions saw the hair cut to just below the ear, where it curls under; in a reverse pageboy, the hair is curled outwards.

Here is how to do it using pin curls.

Sculpture Pin Curler

I started with pin curls that I made using the sculpture pin curler tool. You don't need to use this tool, but it keeps the curls uniform and makes the process faster. I alternated rows between rolling up and under curls.

This is what the pin curls look like when finished. I used bobby pins to secure. They are flatter and easier to sleep on than clips. My hair was slightly damp and I used some LottaBody setting lotion that I bought at my local beauty supply store.

I put a sheer scarf over to protect the curls while I slept. Using a sheer scarf is important to allow the curls to dry completely.

This is what my curls looked like after I took all the bobby pins out. Shirley Temple.

This is what my hair looked like after I ran my fingers through it. You need to break up the curls. I like this look.

Then the real magic happens when you start to brush. I used my boar bristle Mason Pearson brush and I just brushed in sections against my hand and rolled the hair under. I used clips to hold the hair in place when I got it to look just like I wanted. Don't worry about losing your curls by brushing too much. Just keep brushing until you tame the fro.

This is the final look. A sculptured pageboy. Because the curls are so strong, I should be able to turn this curl set into another look tomorrow.

About Me

I am a graphic/web designer and an artist. I am married and have two weenie dogs. I watch way too many makeup tutorials on youtube and style my hair for fun even when I'm not going anywhere. I love to watch movies and have terrible taste in music.